Gajeel's New Years Mission
by CresentCrimzonMoon
Summary: By accident, Gajeel manages to ruin one of Levy's books, but doesn't have the money to replace it. Lucy suggest he take a job so he can make the money to buy a replacement. Little does he know of the events that are about to take place that day.


**Crimzon: Well, the original one shot I planned was supposed to be about Natsu and Lucy, but due to certain circumstances (and my failure to save the damn file) the whole thing was just shot to hell. Then I thought . . . Gajeel! -embarrassing fan-girl squeal- . -Composes self- anywho, since my Christmas one shot didn't turn out too great, I thought, "Why not New Years?" And so, here we are. Read, review, and enjoy and I OWN NOTHING! NOT EVEN GAJEEL! -sigh-**

**Gajeel: . . . I'm getting a weird vibe.**

**Crimzon: -laughs evily-**

**Levy: Poor Gajeel.**

**Gajeel: What's happening?!**

**_Gajeel's New Years Mission_**

**_~General POV~_**

"Ooooh, you're in trouble!" chuckled Happy as he pointed accusingly at the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"It-It wasn't my fault!" he stuttered. He then turned to Natsu and pointed at him, "It's his fault, he's the one who punched me!"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who went crashing into it!" he argued.

"Does it look like I can control what I crash into?!" he snapped as he marched towards the Salamander.

"Heh? Wanna go, Metal Head!"

"Bring it, you little shit fire!"

"Uh, you two should probably fight later," interrupted Happy as he flew over with the ruined item. The two Dragon Slayers glared at the blue Exceed. Without another word, Happy pointed out the door with his free paw and that's when Gajeel felt the panic set it. "Levy's gonna be really mad when she see's what you did to her favorite book." The look of terror was permanently stuck on Gajeel's face as he tried to think of a solution to his problem. The leather bound book was practically ripped to shreds. The pages inside were falling out of the book in pieces, the cover was torn and partially soaked. Without hesitation, Gajeel snatched the remains of the book from Happy's paws and hid it behind his back.

"Good morning, Natsu, Gajeel, Happy," she greeted as she approached them.

"Morning, Levy!" greeted Happy as he attempted to hide his chuckle. Natsu did the same.

"Were you guys fighting again?" she stated as she took notice to the broken table smashed to pieces in the corner and a couple of holes in the wall. She laughed a bit until she noticed the nervous look on Gajeel's face.

"Gajeel? Is everything ok?" she asked. Gajeel didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded as sweat began to form on his brow.

"You sure? You seem odd?"

"I-I'm fine!" he finally snapped which startled the young mage. Noticing he had an opening to escape, he bolted for the door and ran into town like a madman.

"Weirdo," muttered Levy as she walked over to her usual table.

"Ne, Natsu. Gajeel sure is in a fish, huh?" Natsu looked at his nakama and crossed his arms.

"Don't ya mean, in a pickle?"

"Aye!" Natsu chuckled a bit before going back to the request board.

**_~With Gajeel~_**

"Damn-it!" cursed Gajeel as he walked furiously through the streets of Magnolia. His thoughts ran back to earlier when Natsu started a fight with him. It started with Natsu, throwing a punch meant for Gray, but he missed and hit Gajeel instead. That punch sent Gajeel flying through a table and hit the nearby wall. That table he smashed through had Levy's favorite book on it and was sent flying along with him. In anger, he had rushed through and kicked the book across the guild which hit Juvia in the face. Luckily, she was otherwise occupied staring at Gray that the book went right through her which also explains how the book got soaked.

"It's all that stupid Salamander's fault!" he complained as he stared down at the ruined book. He carefully looked through it, trying to find a way to at least put the pages back, but once he saw their condition, he realized how useless it would be. Half of the pages were in shreds while the words on the other half were so faded that not even magic would make it legible again.

He stood there, scratching furiously at his head as he tried to think of a solution. He didn't even know why this was causing him so much trouble! It wasn't his fault to begin with! As a smirk grew on his face, he walked over to a nearby trash can and held the treasured book over it, but for some reason, his fingers could not let go. Suddenly, Levy's smiling face appeared in his mind which made him hesitate even more. With a low growl of irritation, he brought his hand back and held the book close, continuing with trying to find out how to replace it. Then, a stroke of genius hit him. _Blondie should know! She's good with this kind of stuff too! _

"Gihee," with his signature laugh and a triumphant grin, he followed his nose straight to Lucy's apartment.

**_~Moment's later~_**

"I should hurry, Natsu's probably already waiting for me," stated Lucy as she sat down on the edge of her bed and started to tie her boots. She felt calm and happy because so far, not once did someone jump in through her window all week. It may have seemed like a small thing, but when it comes to getting the utter crap scared out of you, it is a huge thing. Lucy started humming a tune to a song when all of a sudden, her calm and serene atmosphere made an immediate U-turn.

"Blondie!" yelled Gajeel as he burst through the window. Lucy squealed and fell onto the floor. Gajeel look confused for a moment as he started down at the celestial mage. "What ya doin' on the floor, Blondie?"

"Why can't you guys come through the front door like normal people?" she stated, each word dripping with annoyance. She stood up and brushed herself off. Her eyes then widened in surprise when she realized who the unexpected visitor was.

"I'm in a hurry."

"Well, this is unexpected. What brings you here, Gajeel?" She asked, still wishing he'd just get inside or drop back down outside. He remained half in the room as he balanced on the window sill.

"I need your help with this!" He said quickly as he brought out the remains of the book. Even though the book was hardly recognizable, it took a few moments for Lucy to recognize it. She carefully took the book from Gajeel with wide eyes.

"What did you do?!" she snapped.

"Why are you getting all upset, it's not your book."

"I gave this book to Levy for Christmas," she sighed. "This was one of her favorite books. You do realize that she's going to kill you when she finds out about this?" Gajeel had a frightened expression on his face as he thought about Levy's wrath.

"I need a way to replace it," he pleaded.

"Well, there lies the problem. This book is rare. I was lucky to even get my hands on it. This is more expensive than my rent!"

"Then how the hell could you afford it!"

"I went on a mission with Natsu before Christmas and the client gave this to us along with the reward money. Levy was telling me how she was trying to find this book for years and she was really happy when I gave it to her."

He still couldn't understand how something like a book could be this much of a hassle to him, but as Lucy told Gajeel her story, he felt a pang of sadness. He didn't realize that he managed to ruin Levy's favorite book, not adding to the fact that it's rare and expensive. Gajeel slumped his shoulders in defeat. Lucy looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer and smiled.

"You really want to find a way to fix this, huh?" she asked. Gajeel didn't say anything, but only nodded. "Well, I think I can help you. I saw a request in the guild and the reward is about 75,000 jewel. That should be more than enough to buy a replacement."

"You said it was rare, I still have to find one," he added.

"And that is where it gets better. I know this old guy who runs a tiny book store and he has this exact book. I'm sure he'll sell it to you if you offer him the right price." Gajeel suddenly felt that this was all going to be easy. "I'm on my way to the guild right now. I can show you the request once we get there."

"Thanks, Blondie."

"I have a name, you know?"

**_~Back at the Guild~_**

"Here, it's this one." Lucy pulled the paper from the request board and handed it to Gajeel

_"In need of dire assistance._

_Must be prepared to handle great_

_amounts of magic!"_

_Reward: 75,000 Jewel_

"Gihee, this should be simple enough," chuckled Gajeel as he took the paper from Lucy.

"You sure you'll be fine on your own? You want us to come along?" she asked. Gajeel turned to her with his signature smile and let out another chuckle.

"I'll be fine on my own," he stated. He then turned away and with a serious tone, he said, "Besides, it's kinda my fault so I should do this by myself." Lucy smiled a bit at the Dragon Slayer's words. With nothing left to say, Gajeel left the guild.

"You sure he's gonna be ok?" asked Happy as he flew over by Lucy. She then turned to the Exceed at the sound of his voice.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I saw Bickslow and Freed take that request just the other day. When they came back, they looked like they had just gone to hell and back," he said. Just that made Lucy curious as she did a quick scan over the tiny guild. They weren't there.

"They were pretty traumatized so they are on a break from missions for the rest of the week." Mirajane stated as she walked up to Lucy and Happy. She had heard the whole conversation and decided to jump in.

"Well," Lucy stated with a shudder, "Let's hope Gajeel can handle it."

_**~With Gajeel~**_

"Alright, let's see." Gajeel had started walking up a long hill just outside the city. He kept looking down at the paper and then around his surroundings, trying to find the address of the person requesting his help. As he looked back down at the paper, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine which caused him to look back up and directly in front of him was a mansion probably the same size as their guild from seven years ago. "What the-" he started as he surveyed the humongous property. All the while, he thought to himself, _why the fuck didn't I notice this earlier?!_

"Excuse me, mister?" A small voice murmured from behind Gajeel. He turned around and saw a small girl standing behind him holding a teddy bear. She wore a white sundress with a flower pattern and had long sky blue hair. Skin as pale as snow and, what got Gajeel's attention, were her eyes. One eye was a dull red while the other was a sickly green color. "Why are you here?" she asked in a voice so soft, he hardly heard her.

"Uh, are your parents around?" he asked. The girl looked up at him with a stoic expression. At the mention of her parents, her eyebrow seemed to twitch slightly. Gajeel didn't notice. Instead, he was impatiently waiting for her to answer so he could get the job done. She then looked over to her home and pointed with her free hand.

"Just knock on the door." With that said, she turned around and walked down the small hill. Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the girl's odd behavior but shrugged it off as he continued up the small pathway to the front door.

**_~10 minutes later~_**

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Gajeel cursed as he continued to bang repeatedly on the door. He kept thinking to himself that someone had to be home if their kid was playing by herself in the yard. After a couple of furious knocks, he finally heard someone on the other side of the over-sized door unlock the hatch. The door slowly swung open and an old musty smell hit Gajeel. He also smelled something that he couldn't explain. Something burnt. He cringed at the stench as he searched for the person who opened the door. He walked into the dark entry way and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark.

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon," a raspy voice called out from behind him. Gajeel spun around and spotted a short old man standing by the door in the shadows. "I see you saw my request? My name is Alfred and I was hoping that you could-"

"Right, what's this thing you want me to fight?" he asked, feeling all fired up. The old man gave Gajeel a questioning look when it finally dawned on him.

"Oh, you must have misunderstood the request," he chuckled.

"Huh?"

"You see, I need to run a few errands and it's rather difficult to leave Anya alone. I can't take her along because she is quite the handful, so I ask that you-"

"Woah, woah, woah, mind explaining what the hell you are talking about, old man?"

"Hmm? Oh, well then. You see, I'm her grandfather and her only living relative. Her parents and siblings died in a tragic fire a few years ago. She was the only one who survived. I came here to care for her, but it seems that the fire has left her with deep emotional scars. She hardly speaks a word and often disappears from the property. She scared away all of the maids and servants and sometimes strange things tend to happen so asking any normal babysitter to come here is out of the question."

"So, I'm not fighting anything?"

"No."

"You're asking me to babysit?"

"Exactly," the old man stated with a smile. Gajeel looked at him with an annoyed glare.

"I'm out." He stated bluntly as he started making his way out the door. _I'm gonna hafta find another way to get that book,_ he thought.

"W-w-wait, wait!" shouted Alfred as he grabbed hold of Gajeel's shirt, trying to hold him back. Gajeel looked over his shoulder in annoyance. "I have no one else to help me! I'm at the end of my rope!" he cried. The Dragon Slayer looked down at the blubbering old man with a look of irritation. Although he absolutely loathed the thought of having to babysit, the image of Levy's tattered book continued to pop into his mind. With a long sigh, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to face Alfred.

"Tch, fine, I'll do it. But you are going to pay me the amount you promised in the request?"

"Yes, yes of course!" he smiled happily. He then clapped his hands together, reached for a suitcase and a bowler hat from out of no where and stormed off down the hill, leaving Gajeel with an expression that was a combination of confusion and anger . . . a lot of anger. With another sigh, Gajeel straightened his back and started down the hill to find the kid. _What did the old man say her name was? Ella? No, it started with an A. Aya, or something?_

Gajeel let his mind wander with names until he found the girl sitting on a picnic blanket playing with her teddy bear and an old toy tea set.

"Hey, ki-" Gajeel stopped mid-sentence when he noticed something odd. The girl was playing with the tea set, but they way she played was weird. She would talk to the bear, but there was no voice. She was mouthing the words and would occasionally nod in response to whatever the bear would say if it talked back. She'd pour imaginary tea into a small cup that had tiny cracks in it, but there was no smile on her face. She wasn't laughing or anything and even though Gajeel isn't really an expert on this kind of stuff, he knew that this girl was not normal. The way she was playing seemed . . . forced. As if she were just imitating something she saw someone else do. "Um, hey?" Gajeel's voice reached the girl's ears and she turned to face him in response. Her expression remained the same, but one thing changed. She talked.

"Grandpa Alfred left, didn't he?" she asked, although it didn't sound like a question.

"Y-yeah. Listen, don't expect anything from me. I'm only here to make sure you don't get into any trouble and that's it," he said sternly. He didn't want to admit it, but this girl gave him the creeps. Without a word, she stood up and brushed some dirt off of her dress.

"So, you're a mage from Fairy Tail?" she questioned. Gajeel nodded. "What kind of mage are you?"

"I'm a Dragon Slayer," he stated.

"Ehh, Dragon Slayer, huh? What kind?" she asked. Before he could answer that, she held up a hand. "Iron?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Well then, do something with iron," she ordered. A vein of irritation popped out of Gajeel's forehead. Was he really being ordered around by some kid?

"Hey, who says you can order me-"

"I think I just asked you to do something with iron. If not, then I'll get myself into trouble and Gramps wont pay you," she threatened. Gajeel took a step back. _This kid . . . who the hell does she think she is?! Wasn't she supposed to be some traumatized kid?!_ To Gajeel, it seemed like Anya must have flipped a switch to her personality. "Hmm, I see," she spoke up again. "You really need that money, don't you?" she questioned. Gajeel stopped with his mental rant and stared down at the kid. She suddenly had a smile spread across her face. "Well then, do something with iron."

With a low growl of irritation, Gajeel sighed and held out an arm. The girl noticed the faint glow as his arm seemed to take on a different shape and form a blade. "There, ya happy now?"

"Hmm . . . eh," she shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing. She then started walking towards the mansion, leaving behind a steamed Gajeel. His face was multiple shades of red and steam was seeping out from his ears.

"Eh? Eh?! What the fuck do you mean 'eh'?!" he cursed at the air.

_**~15 Minutes Later~**_

"Oi! Brat!"

After Anya had made fun of Gajeel's magic, she ran back into the mansion and for the last fifteen minutes, Gajeel has been trying to find her. Every time he'd go up one hallway, he'd hear a kid's ghostly laughter.

"Yo, Brat! This isn't funny! I'm supposed to be babysitting so stop messing around!" he yells at the walls around him. The few seconds after he said that, something caught him by surprise. A pile of metal pans fell from a trap in the ceiling onto the Dragon Slayer's head.

"I want to play hide-n-seek. If you find me, then you get your reward money and I'll be out of your hair," she giggled. "But, here's the catch," she started as she stared down at Gajeel who was currently being crushed by the massive pile of pans. "If you can't find me by sundown, then you can forget about your reward." She laughed again as she gave a girly spin, "Good luck, Gajeel-san." With that said, she stepped back into a shadow in the hallway and was gone.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked himself. He crawled out from under the pile and dusted himself off. He smirked as a thought came to mind, _I have to find the kid, huh? Well then . . ._

He sniffed the air around him, but all that got him was the smell of stale air and mold. He couldn't understand it, he couldn't catch on to any scent.

"That's not going to woooork~" teased the kid. He couldn't pinpoint where her voice was coming. It only echoed throughout the hallway. Laughter soon followed after her words which irritated Gajeel even more.

For the next twenty minutes, Gajeel ran up and down halls, up flights of stairs which somehow ended up with him in the basement, and then up into the roof. Although the house made no sense with it's maze like structure, Gajeel was too focused on finding Anya to even care with how weird that was.

"Ah! To hell with this!" he shouted. He was fed up with the constant running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Swallowing his pride, he left the mansion making his way back to the guild. He was going to do something he never knew he'd do . . . ask someone for help. As Gajeel disappeared down the hill, Anya watched him from one of the windows. A smile spread across her small face, _he could be the one to figure it out . . . maybe?_ She thought. She closed her eyes, her smile fading _. . . maybe not?_ Anya took one last look at the sky outside the window, watching the sun as it reached its highest point. She then turned around and faded in the surrounding shadows.

_**~At the Guild~**_

"Juvia!" Gajeel ran up to the first person he saw at the guild. Slightly startled, Juvia jumped in her seat as the Dragon Slayer seemed to appear out of no where.

"What is it, Gajeel-san?" she asked.

"Come with me!" he said quickly. Without even waiting for her response, he grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the mansion.

"G-Gajeel!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. She took a look around and noticed the mansion.

"I need help finding this kid," he stated. Juvia looked at him with widened eyes. She wasn't really used to him asking for help.

"Kid?"

In only a few minutes, Gajeel quickly explained the situation. Him ruining Levy's book, the job he is currently taking, the weird kid and this game. With only a nod of understanding, Juvia agreed to help and followed him into the mansion. As they walked in, they quickly started walking in separate directions. Little did they know that Anya had been watching them.

Juvia continued down the corridor when she suddenly felt a chill go up her spine. With a slight shiver, she turned around but saw nothing. Brushing it off like nothing, she continued walking when she bumped into something. She took a step back and her eyes widened. It wasn't a something she bumped into . . . it was a some_one._

"Gr-Gr-Gray-sama!"

"Hey, Juvia." He smiled down at the water mage. She wasn't really sure why he was there, but could care less. She rubbed her eyes, as if she couldn't believe them, but when she opened them, he was gone. "Gray-sama?" she spoke, looking around the hallway. Suddenly she heard laughter coming from behind her and recognized it to be Gray's voice. She turned around with a wide smile, but that quickly faded when the scene in front of her registered in her mind. Gray stood there, holding hands with . . . Lucy. Juvia didn't even ask herself why Lucy was suddenly there.

"Gray-sama?"

"Sorry, Juvia . . . but I choose Lucy," he stated bluntly. Lucy then stuck her tongue out at Juvia while Gray gave a mocking laugh. Juvia felt tears sting her eyes. She closed them, wanting to erase the scene before her. When she opened her eyes again, they were gone.

"Wh-What?"

"Get out!" a voice from behind Juvia startled her, but before she could turn, she felt a rush of water consume her. She quickly reverted into water and tried to take control, but was unable to. The water merely pushed her out the nearest window and outside. Juvia fell onto a patch of grass as she tried to comprehend what just happened. That thought process was surprisingly short as she remembered the scene from earlier. Without any hesitation, she sped back to the guild, forgetting all about helping Gajeel.

_**~At the Guild~**_

"Ne, Lucy." Lucy sat at one of the tables, waiting for Natsu to decide on a mission. She turned around once she heard Levy's voice. "Have you seen Gajeel?" she asked. Lucy quickly thought to the job Gajeel was currently on and the reason why. Lucy suddenly felt nervous about trying to find the correct answer.

"Uh," she tried to think of something. "He went on a job," she said.

"Hm? Is it close by? I needed to talk to him about something."

"Uh . . . no."

"It's really important, Lucy." Lucy felt bad and was about to spill the beans when they suddenly heard Juvia's cries as she approached the guild.

"Gray-sama! Don't pick Lucy!" she cried as she ran into the guild.

"Juvia? Gray's not even here," Lucy stated. "Are you ok?" Juvia looked up at the Celestial Mage and suddenly had a look of hatred.

"Stay away from Gray-sama!" she ordered. Lucy just backed away in surrender.

"Hai, hai," she murmured.

"Juvia, is everything ok?" asked Levy.

"Huh? Well, Juvia was helping Gajeel-san with a job, but Juvia saw something and-"

"Where?" she asked quickly.

"Uh, a mansion just outside Magnolia."

"Thanks, Juvia!" she said with a smile as she ran out the guild. Juvia sat there, wondering.

"Juvia's not sure what just happened."

Lucy chuckled slightly and sighed. "Good luck, Gajeel."

_**~Back With Gajeel~**_

"Ahh, where the hell did Juvia go?" muttered Gajeel. One moment he hears screams coming from where Juvia was and suddenly, a massive wall of water rushed passed him and disappeared into a wall.

"Sorry Gajeel, but you can't have any help in this game," Anya giggled. Gajeel tried to locate where her voice was coming from, but still couldn't pinpoint it's location.

"Come on out, stupid kid!" yelled Gajeel. It's then he started to run rampant throughout the house. He was at the point where he was completely fed up with this stupid game.

Anya watched him from a trap door in the ceiling, laughing silently at his actions. It's then that something caught her attention. She walked over to the window and noticed a girl with blue hair walk onto the property. She seemed to be looking for something.

"Gajeel?" she called out. Anya suddenly felt annoyed, but that emotion quickly faded as a thought came to mind. Suddenly, this game became even more interesting to her.

Gajeel heard his name coming from outside. He looked out the window near him and noticed Levy walking around the property.

"Crap, what the hell is she doing here?" he questioned. That's when he heard the laughter again.

"Take care of your friends, Gajeel."

His eyes widened at those words. He suddenly felt that this game was about to become dangerous. Without hesitation, he jumped out the window and started running towards Levy.

"Oi! Get away from here!" he yelled. Levy didn't seem to understand what he said. Instead, she started walking towards him, but was suddenly stopped. In only seconds, a wall of rock burst up from the ground in front of her, blocking her view of Gajeel. She tried backing away, but a similar wall appeared there too. Levy wasn't able to react quick enough. Two more walls appeared on either side of her and she was suddenly caught within a box.

Gajeel finally reached Levy and started punching at the wall. He couldn't even make a dent. All it did was injure his hand.

"Gajeel, what's happening?" Levy asked. Gajeel could hear the slight panic in her voice.

"I told you," Anya's voice could be heard from behind him. He didn't bother turning around. "You should take better care of your friends," she added. Gajeel stood there in silence. "Now is your chance to find me before the sun sets. You have less than an hour-"

"Shut-up," he cut her off.

"Huh?"

"I said, shut the hell up!" Anya took a step back when she heard the angry tone in Gajeel's voice. "You think this is some game?" He then turned around, "I'm sick of this stupid game. I don't care about the stupid reward anymore!"

"But, don't you need it for-"

"Like I said, I'm done. Let go of her, now," he ordered. Anya cringed at his tone, but said nothing. She snapped her fingers and the earthy walls confining Levy collapsed. She fell to her knees as she took in the fresh air.

"Hey, you ok?" asked Gajeel. Levy nodded as she continued to cough. Anya smiled at the two and then stared at the setting sun. _This was fun, _she thought. She then walked up to Gajeel and handed him a book.

"What the-"

"Your reward," she stated. "You were going to use the money to buy a replacement for the one you wrecked, right?" she added. Gajeel nodded while Levy stared up at the two in confusion.

"How did-" Anya held up a hand before he could finish talking.

"You see, this was all an illusion." As she says that, the mansion and the land around it seemed to become transparent and then vanish. In the spot where the building stood was nothing but a large amount of land that seemed to be scorched. Gajeel noticed that there were patches of grass trying to grow to replace those that were burnt.

_"Her family died in a tragic fire."_ The old man's words echoed in the Dragon Slayer's head. That's when it finally dawned on Gajeel.

"I had fun. I'm sorry if I hurt your friend," she apologized. "Thanks for playing with me, Gajeel." With that said, she started walking towards the burnt remains of her home and like the illusion from before, she faded and vanished.

_**~Moments Later~**_

_****_Back in the city, Levy quickly ran inside a book store to talk with the owner while Gajeel leaned up against the building. While he waited, he thought back to the events of the day. He wasn't really sure of what happened, but felt somewhat sad by it. He looked down at the book in his hand and all he could think was how she knew he needed the money for the book.

"Ne, Gajeel, I think I know what happened," stated Levy as she walked outside to stand next to Gajeel.

"As it turns out, a couple of years ago, there was a big fire. That mansion and the family living in it died. The little girl, Anya, was actually the only one in the family who was able to use magic, but had little control over it. Somehow, she accidentally set fire to her home. She tired to escape, but cornered herself in the attic. Once the fire was put out, the bodies of the family were recovered, but she was the only one they couldn't find."

_"I want to play hide-n-seek . . ."_ her voice echoed in Gajeel's mind.

"That probably explains why her spirit wanted to play that game. She was lonely and wanted to be found," she added.

"Y-Yeah," Gajeel murmured.

"You ok?" asked Levy. Gajeel just stepped away from the wall and started making his way back to the guild. They walked in silence for a while when something finally dawned on Levy.

"What's that book?" she asked. A shiver flew up Gajeel's spine as he realized he wouldn't be able to lie his way through this.

"Uh . . . here." He handed her the book. She took it and her eyes widened.

"Gajeel, this is-"

"I know. I accidentally ruined your book so I had to find a way to replace it," he confessed.

"You ruined my book? Which one?" she asked.

"The one Blondie gave you."

"Hmm? I have that one at home . . ."

"Yeah, well . . . wait, what?"

"I said that I leave that book at home because I'm afraid it might get ruined if I leave it at the guild."

"You what? Then the book that I-"

"If you're talking about the one I left at the guild then it belongs to you."

"What the hell?" he murmured as she handed the book back to him.

"You see, I didn't get a chance to get you anything for Christmas. Earlier today, I came across this book and I thought you might like it. So I was going to give it to you, but I decided last minute to wrap it, so I put it down and ran back home to get some wrapping paper. I guess I shouldn't have left it sitting there, huh?" she laughed. Gajeel stood there, dumbfounded and suddenly feeling really exhausted.

"All of this . . . for a stupid book!" he shouted. Levy then stared at him, annoyed as she repeated the word 'stupid' in her head.

"Stupid, huh?" she murmured. She then turned around and made her way back to the Fairy Tail dorms. Before she got too far, she turned back and shouted, "Look at the cover, stupid!"

Gajeel cringed, but looked at the book anyway. Now that he could see the title clearly, he understood. It had the word _Dragons_ written on it.

"This is-"

"I know how much you, Natsu, and Wendy want to know what happened to your Dragons. Although I've looked into it, I can't find anything. Even though you don't seem to care, I thought that maybe you might feel better if you read this book. It just has stupid stories and legends about dragons, but I thought you'd like it anyway. I'm sorry I wasted my time," she stated. Gajeel didn't say anything. Instead he walked over to Levy and placed his hand on top of her head. He didn't look her in the eye or anything, but he smiled.

"Thanks, Levy." He then continued to walk passed her, making his way back to the guild. Levy didn't turn around, but she smiled as well.

_**~Early the Next Morning~**_

__Gajeel walked up the hill back to the property he was just at before. For a second, he expected to see the mansion still standing there, but there was nothing. He continued to walk up to where the front door should have been and crouched down, leaving a small bouquet of flowers on the doorstep. He didn't say anything the whole time. He then got up and started walking away when he heard a child's laughter. He didn't turn around. He didn't need to.

"Happy new year, Gajeel." Anya's voice drifted passed him.

"Happy new year, Kid."

**Crimzon: . . . .**

**Gajeel: You bull shitted the ending, didn't you?  
**

**Crimzon: Writer's block is a bitch!  
**

**Levy: That's no excuse.  
**

**Crimzon: Well, I'm sorry. I had a better ending in mind, but it didn't work out! -sniff, sniff-  
**

**Gajeel: Are you cryin'?  
**

**Crimzon: -sniff- No! . . . Anyways HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  
**

**Levy: . . . It's the 20th  
**

**Crimzon: BUT IT'S STILL JANUARY!  
**

**Levy: This was supposed to be updated 19 days ago.  
**

**Crimzon: . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!  
**


End file.
